Shloka 29

Devanagari script

त्रिदशा5पि समुद्युक्ता नाल॑ भीष्म॑ं समासितुम्‌ | किमु पार्था महात्मानं मर्त्यभूता महाबला:,“यदि सम्पूर्ण देवता भी एकत्र हो युद्धके लिये उद्योग करें तो वे भी भीष्मका सामना करनेमें समर्थ नहीं हो सकते; फिर कुन्तीके महाबली पुत्र तो मरणधर्मा मनुष्य ही हैं। वे उन महात्मा भीष्मका सामना क्‍या कर सकते हैं?

Transliteration

tridaśā api samudyuktā nālaṁ bhīṣmaṁ samāsitum | kimu pārthā mahātmānaṁ martyabhūtā mahābalāḥ ||

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—“แม้เหล่าเทพทั้งสามสิบสามจะพร้อมใจกันออกศึก ก็ยังไม่อาจเผชิญหน้าภีษมะได้; แล้วบุตรผู้มีกำลังยิ่งของปฤถา ซึ่งเป็นเพียงมนุษย์ผู้ต้องตาย จะต้านทานมหาตมะภีษมะนั้นได้อย่างไร?”

Word by Word

त्रिदशाःthe gods (thirty-three)

अपिeven/also

समुद्युक्ताःfully prepared/engaged

नnot

अलम्able/sufficient

भीष्मम्Bhishma

समासितुम्to confront/face

किमुhow much less/then what of

पार्थाःthe sons of Pritha (Pandavas)

महात्मानम्the great-souled one

मर्त्यभूताःhaving become mortals / being mortal

महाबलाःmighty-strong

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīṣma

Tridaśas (the gods/devas)

Pārthas (sons of Pṛthā/Kuntī; the Pāṇḍavas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights human limitation before extraordinary dharmic stature and accumulated prowess: even divine power is rhetorically declared insufficient against Bhīṣma, so mortals must recognize the gravity of opposing a figure whose strength is intertwined with vows, reputation, and destiny.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield situation, emphasizes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the formidable nature of Bhīṣma. By contrasting the gods with the Pāṇḍavas, he frames Bhīṣma as an almost unassailable commander, intensifying the sense of peril and imbalance in the opening phases of the war.